NY Rangers' depth and discipline help defeat Capitals 5-0 in Game 7

Remember when depth was a concern for the Rangers heading into the final month of the season?

Look at the scoresheet from tonight's 5-0 Game 7 win and you'll see that depth was the story of the victory -- and for the entire series against the Capitals -- and how they dug out of a 2-0 hole.

Arron Asham tied for the team lead in goals with two and opened up tonight's barrage with a booming slapper that made its way past Braden Holtby. Taylor Pyatt followed up with a score after helping win a battle along the boards, something he's done all season long. Steve Eminger had two assists; Chris Kreider had one on Asham's goal right after a defensive lapse. And Brian Boyle, who had an up and down regular season, was part of the crew that blocked an astounding 27 shots, a huge reason why the Blueshirts are moving on to face the Boston Bruins.

Of course, one of the big reasons the Rangers are in the second round of the playoffs is Henrik Lundqvist, who had his second straight shutout in 24 hours. His Game 6 and 7 were the stuff of legends, proof the Blueshirts netminder is the most important player to the team no matter what happens in front of him. But when the focus is on Rick Nash's struggles to exorcise his playoff demons or the fact that Brad Richards is on the fourth line, to get contributions all over the lineup is just as notable.

The Rangers also re-discovered the key to shutting down the Capitals, aside from stellar defense from Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh on Alex Ovechkin: discipline. The Rangers gave Washington just a pair of power plays in those final two contests after getting burned by the Caps' talented PP unit toward the beginning of the series.

These are all keys to success heading into the series against a Bruins team that's just as deep and feisty -- after all, they're coming off an emotional win tonight in which they came back from a 4-1 deficit against the Toronto Maple Leafs. More than likely, they'll throw enormous defenseman Zdeno Chara -- and some double-teams, too -- at Nash to try to shut him down as the Capitals did.

But if the Rangers keep getting the entire team involved in wins like this and if Lundqvist can keep up his extraordinary run, that won't be as much of a concern.